


Maneuvers

by perlaret



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Force-Sensitive Finn, Galactic politics, M/M, New EU Compliant, Senator Ben Solo, senator finn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-09 16:42:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8899948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perlaret/pseuds/perlaret
Summary: There is a new addition to the Senate. Those are rare, these days.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spookykingdomstarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookykingdomstarlight/gifts).



> For the request, "Senator!Finn and Senator!Ben celebrating the winter holidays together," with a few dashes of "I love misunderstandings and pining and would love to see a take on it featuring Kylo being the one pining for Finn." thrown in! This came out a little less sweet than either of those prompts initially come off, but I hope you'll find it satisfying regardless! I also tried to throw in a few EU tidbits. I'm not fully up on everything out there, but I tried to add in a few minor characters I thought you'd appreciate to round things out.
> 
> Happy Holidays!

Additions to the New Republic are rare, these days.

Senator Ben Organa scrolls through the memorandum on his datapad with little interest. There’s not yet been any sort of public fuss over the newest senator thus far, and the memo conveys a similarly perfunctory tone; indeed, a fuss over such a thing would be lacking in decorum, and the Populist remnants of the Senate are far more concerned with the appearance of peaceful self-control than anything else. Thus, the memo conveys a brief welcome, covering the basics. The representative is from Ellesa, a quiet, largely agricultural world on the edge of the Neutral zone, occupied primarily by humans and that had until recently remained adamantly apathetic to joining any larger union of dimplomacy outside their own star system.

Ben has his own sources of information. From these, he knows that this particular application for membership in the Republic was conducted with little fanfare and even less hassle. But that’s to be expected. Many of the stipulations for joining the Republic had been created in more optimistic times. And even then, it was not as if a decentralized, mostly-agrarian planet a sneeze away from the Outer Reaches had much to show for in terms of militarization or economic insufficiencies. More important is what the addition of Ellesa will do for the New Republic, once the holoreels start reporting the news. It’s only a time before the new senator’s arrival is lauded as a revival of democracy, a beacon of recovery in the still-bitter wake of the Succession.

It’s idiotic, this pretense that this new planet’s addition to the government is simply a matter of course, but at the same time, Ben has no interest in engaging in the charade, nor in undermining it. His duty lies with the interests of the Alderaan Sector, and with that alone.

He closes the memorandum and resumes his work.

-

“Have you had the chance to meet Senator Meles yet?”

Ben represses a sigh and doesn’t even look up. “You don’t have an appointment,” he says. Korr Sella ignores him, crossing the short distance from the door of his junior senatorial office and taking a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. The room is small and sparsely decorated; he still hasn’t gotten into the habit of being in one place long enough to accumulate things.

“Senator Finn Meles of Ellesa. Have you met him yet?” she prompts. In his peripheral vision, he can see her folding her hands neatly over her lap, like she’s prepared to get comfortable.

“What does the Resistance want with him?” Ben asks, “And why are you bothering me with it, and not Evaan?” Sella knows well enough what the arrangement is. For all that he accepted Verlaine’s offer to fill the role his mother had left in the Senate when she left to go make another play at warmongering, he has little interest in reprising any more of his family’s legacies. He’s seen all his options now, and none of them are appealing. So Ben does as New Alderaan asks, lends his voice and vote to the necessary bills that earmark funds to the appropriate parties, but that is the extent of his involvement with either the Resistance or Leia Organa.

Which again begs the question of why Korr Sella was sitting in his office, radiating waves of exasperation.

She spreads her hands as if to present the obvious. “Evaan Verlaine is lightyears away,” Korr says, “and you are not. The planet Ellesa has definitely had First Order contact – even before the Succession, their closest systems were virtually all Centrist. Their Senator could be a valuable informational asset, if he’s trustworthy. But if the opposite is true, and he’s not...” More dubiously, she adds, “General Organa thought you might have a good sense for that.”

Resentment drops weighty and hot in Ben’s chest, crushing out any trace of patience for this he might have clung to. “So use your spies,” he says shortly, sweeping the necessary contents of his desk into a drawer. He doesn’t bother with a key; it takes no concentration at all to engage the lock. The way Korr Sella’s eyebrows jump in shock confirm his suspicions that she hadn’t believed the rumors after all. He gathers his things and stands. “Meeting adjourned. Next time, make an appointment like all the other lobbyists do.”

“Senator Organa,” Korr interjects, rising to her feet. “If you could help--“

Ben sweeps past her. “That’s just it. I don’t want to.”

-

As luck would have it, he meets the Senator from Elessa the following week, just as news of his arrival is sweeping the holoreels. It’s a gathering for the Preservation of Endangered Non-Sentient Species, a joke of senatorial subcommittee that Ben can’t pretend not to hate. It’s an assignment cloaked in unsubtle distrust and intentional condescension, and for all of Evaan’s assurances that it’s a typical posting for a junior senator, Ben’s pride recognizes an insult when he receives one.

Which makes it all the more interesting that Senator Finn Meles has received the same treatment as the the infamous son of Leia Organa. Ben imagines he is probably far too taken in by the grandeur of the Senate to notice the slight.

Senator Meles sits between Senators Geenra and Toolus, the two ranking members of the comittee. Geenra leans in over his shoulder, no doubt providing a dauntless deluge of information about the goings ons in recent meetings. Ben picks a seat at the end of the table, closest to the door, and preoccupies himself with helping himself to the water set out along the runner, only distantly registering that the topic is the upcoming Solstice Festival. He’s still aware of it the very moment their attention turns to him.

“Senator Organa, have you had a chance to meet the new representative from Elessa yet?” Toolus asks, tilting her head Ben’s way. The orange of her lekkus clashes violently with the magenta robes, which stand out even more vibrantly against the subdued hues worn by Finn Meles beside him. Ben wonders uncharitably if the new Senator really does think a staid wardrobe will lend him any gravity amongst these politicians, or if he has yet to realize he’s being tolerated at best... and at worst, being evaluated as a pawn.

Ben lets his gaze flick over Senator Meles, taking in the stiff set of his shoulders and the wary look on his face. Too wary. It occurs to him that maybe the younger man is more jaded than his status as the resident greenhorn should warrant. Or at least, more afraid.

Fear, he understands. There is much in this galaxy to fear.

“This is our first encounter,” he says, knowing his stare is making all three of them uncomfortable but Ben’s curiosity is sufficiently piqued now. There’s something else about this new Senator that is holding his attention, now that it’s been drawn, like the unexpected drag of a strong current several meters down. Geenra mutters something too low to hear, clearly uneasy under Ben’s protracted stare. The secrets that drove his mother out of the Senate make all of them equally suspicious of her son, no matter the fact he’s more or less denounced her.

Senator Meles returns his gaze, brow furrowed. “Organa, was it?” he asks, cautious. “As in–“

“–Would you look at the time!” Toolus interrupts before he can finish the question and nearly startling Finn Meles out of his seat. She continues on, taking hold of her datapad. “It’s time to begin. We’ll have more time for the niceties later.” Ben would normally at the transparent departure from procedure, but this time lets it pass. He breaks his stare but his attention remains on the new Senator, mulling over the familiar tug he feels. It bears watching.

For his part, Finn Meles does not press the topic, more than intuitive enough to realize it was not something anyone wanted him to discuss. Ben notices the way his brown eyes drift at times, though, always toward his end of the table.

The meeting resolves in due course, and nothing comes of it. Ben is the first to leave and no one waylays him.

-

He knew, of course, that wouldn’t be the end of it.

Ben strides through the long corridors of the senatorial compound, the early morning light casting long, cool shadows as it falls through the windows. It’s not busy yet, most normal business will not begin for another few hours at least, but New Alderaan’s daylight hours don’t align perfectly with the Hosnian system and he has a holo meeting arranged with the Princess Elect. Ben prefers to conduct such affairs outside the small apartment he keeps as his personal quarters. A long youth full of travel and close quarters makes him jealous for privacy, even if it at times runs too quiet. Not even his aides are here this early.

That said, he isn’t alone in the building, but he isn’t surprised that it’s Senator Meles he crosses paths with. Ben has no intention of stopping to chat, but Meles has other plans, though he waits until Ben is already beyond where he stops, frozen, to put them into play.

“Senator Organa– I’d like a minute.“

Ben pauses only briefly, sparing him a glance. “I’m on a schedule, Meles.”

The sound of footsteps echoing his own follows only a moment after. “I can walk and talk at the same time,” the other Senator tells him, moving quickly to keep up with Ben’s longer strides. “And I prefer Finn, by the way.”

Ben turns a corner, heading deeper into the complex. “You realize informality won’t endear you to anyone here, don’t you?” He glances askance, noting the way Finn’s lips briefly press together into a tight, frustrated line.

“On my planet, the order of names is very flexible. Not a big deal. I’m surprised no one here cared to learn, actually. So, no, no. Not actually informal. Senator Finn is fine, if you prefer.”

It’s a lie. Ben recognizes it for what it is, the pull of an untruth plucking at his senses as it asks to be believed, but he admires the quick thinking all the same. Even in spite of himself, he says, “Very well, Senator Finn. What is it you want?”

“Right,” Finn says, filling the air as he regathers his thoughts. “I get that no one likes talking about this. You. People have said as much.”

“People?” Ben intones skeptically, not liking where this is going. He suspects.

“You know, people.” Finn makes a vague gesture, sunlight catching on his hands and cresting the brown of his skin in gold. “But you are General Organa’s family. You know about the Resistance, don’t you? How I could reach them.”

“No,” Ben says, derision coloring his tone. “If you know enough to know that, you also will have heard that I do not.”

“I heard,” Finn says. “I know. But, well. I also know that just because you don’t doesn’t mean you can’t. And this is important.”

“I’m running late,” Ben lies, brushing him off. What he isn’t expecting is the hand at his wrist, jerking him to a stop. Affront crashes through Ben, runs hot through his veins, and he draws himself up to his full height and scowls. “Let go.”

Finn’s expression flickers, almost falters, but then he sets his jaw and repeats, “It’s important.” He exhales in a huff, finally relaxing his grip, but not before he adds: “My people are in danger, many have already been hurt, all because of the First Order, and I came here to try and get help. But no one’s paying attention, even that’s why Elessa decided to join the Republic after all this time to start with. So, no. I won’t let this go.”

Ben withdraws his hand from the loose, too-warm circle of Senator Finn’s fingers. “People are always in danger,” he says. “And for all I know, you’re just as easily one of the First Order’s spies.”

Offense flashes through Finn like a lance. “They suspect the same of you, you know.” Ben bares his teeth in a mockery of a grin, hoping to set him further off-kilter.

“If only I hadn’t had a better offer,” he challenges.

“You– Did you–“ Finn says, only to break off in confusion and doubt.

“No,” Ben says, another lie. He’d nearly done that and worse, but he’s not in the habit of telling near strangers. Nor anyone else, for that matter. He checks his chrono, indulges another wash of annoyance at how much time this is taking. “Fine. I’ll hear you out. But–“ he adds, cutting Finn off before he could jump in, “not here. You’re going to the Solstice Festival, yes?”

Finn hesitates. “I’ve had several invitations.” Ben rolls his eyes.

“I’ll holo you where you can meet me, your social life obliging,” he says flatly. “Otherwise, don’t approach me about this again.”

That hews away any lingering reluctance. Finn squares up, something fierce coming alight in him; Ben hates how intrigued he is by it.

“I’ll be there,” he says, and that’s that.

-

The Solstice Festival runs for three days, culminating in the shortest day of Hosnian Prime’s annual solar cycle. It’s a sprawling mess of events and celebrations that spans wide swaths of the city’s many cultural points. Ben has largely given pass to most of the festivities, but the late night lighting of bonfires and subsequent firework displays are at least visually interesting enough that it doesn’t feel like the foolish nostalgia it could be interpreted as. He leans against the balcony rail and doesn’t budge when he gets the alert his protocol droid – a useful, recent model, put into commission this decade – has allowed in a visitor.

“Are you going to just stand there?” he says after a moment, when nothing further is forthcoming. From behind him, there’s a nervous, embarrassed cough.

“Sorry. I think.” Finn steps outside into the cool winter air and casts a look around. They’re several stories up, and below the crowd mills around, the light of the bonfire down the way casting the entire block in an orange glow. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to get here in all that? Speaking of, where is here?”

Ben shrugs once. “Someplace with a view.”

“Uh huh.” Finn peers over the edge, taking it all in. He’s dressed far less somberly today, in the mood of the festival, all blue trimmed with yellow gold. He’d be far more in place down below than Ben, in his usual blacks and greys. “You’re not planning to push me over, are you?”

“Tempting,” Ben says. “It’d certainly absolve you of your worries. That was a joke, by the way,” he adds, when that musters only alarm.

“...Oh.”

Ben taps a finger, then stills the movement, wrapping his hand around the cold metal of the balustrade. “So. Since you’re so preoccupied with this danger of yours, why don’t you explain it.”

“What did you mean?” Finn asks instead, crossing his arms against the breeze. “When you said you had another offer?”

A firework goes off in the distance, the crack of echoing down the streets and rousing a cheer in its wake. Red sparks flare wide across the sky. “I meant what I said,” Ben says, flicking his fingers as though to knock the question away from him midair. “I’m not interested in sharing.”

“Are you interested in anything besides yourself?” Finn challenges. “Or do other people’s problems inspire nothing in you at all?”

Ben finally looks over, his lips curling. “What problems, exactly, am I supposed to be inspired by, Senator Finn?”

Finn struggles with that. It’s written plain as day in the tension of his muscles, some inexplicable desperation at odds with the blatant mistrust he feels toward Ben. Yet, he made it this far, and Ben is curious enough to tolerate the wait. So long as it is short.

Finally, Finn reaches his choice. “...People on Elessa have been disappearing for years.” Finally, they were getting somewhere.

“And what about these disappearances matter to the Republic?”

“They’re children, usually,” Finn says, as another slew of fireworks light up the sky. “And I was nearly one of them.” There’s a gravity to his bearing and his words that explain, in that moment, exactly why he was chosen by his planet to represent them before the galactic audience. His anxiety set aside, there is something earnest and determined about Finn that Ben finds... enviable, maybe.

He nods them inside, away from the noise below. “Go on.”

Finn steps inside, running a palm over the close crop of his hair. “Alright. Yeah.” Neither of them takes a seat but Finn is especially restless, with all the usual ticks of someone whose mind is moving faster than they can choose the words. “I was nearly one of them, as a kid. They came to my town in the night. I was real young, three? I barely remember it. They killed my parents because they put up a fight, I only got away by luck, I think. Don’t remember how exactly, but people found me hiding in the forest two days later. It keeps happening every few years, but they’re better about discretion, so it took the authorities on my planet years to realize it was a trend.”

“And what makes you think it’s the First Order, and not some criminal organization stealing children in the night for their own gain?” Ben presses, because it’s the most obvious question. It’s not that he doesn’t believe Finn’s story, because he does. But if he doesn’t have more than just gut feeling and fear, there’s not much anyone could do.

Finn doesn’t bat an eye. “Rumor spread, and some people got nervous enough to prepare. Another town, Tunmah, rural place, got attacked, but they were ready. They stole the ship the kidnappers arrived on and flew it to our capital city.” He steps in, urgent. “We have evidence, I swear it. It _was_  the First Order, and they’ve been kidnapping Elessa’s children to grow their army for decades. We thought that the Republic borders and patrols might help, but it’s not enough. Something needs to be done, and that’s why I need to get to the Resistance.”

It’s rousing. Impassioned. Even Ben finds himself swayed. He worries at his lip, mulling it over. “Do you have it with you?”

Finn looks at him sideways, leaving Ben with the impression of a wall unseen, sprung up in his path while his head was turned. “I can get it. But... It’s for Resistance eyes only.”

He has it with him, Ben surmises. The fool. In another galaxy, Finn might have had good reason to regret that.

As it stands, Ben feels like he’s on the precipise of something he’s not quite sure he wants. It’s the same ledge he’s been hanging back from for the last several years, when he sat down with Verlaine and made his compromises, right after walking away from his falling out with Luke and all the lies he’d almost fallen into. He’s known all along that the Senate wasn’t really an escape from it, just a covert holding pattern until the other shoe dropped and everything went to shit.

Force help him, Ben gets the sense this is the first sign that that’s happening. Half of him wants to lash out, imbed his fist into the wall and tear the room apart in frustration because nothing he wants ever lasts. The other half of him wants to disappear into the vacuum of space and leave all of this behind once and for all, and never look back.

“I’m not the one who needs to see it anyway,” Ben tells him instead, pulling on some well of restraint he didn’t realize he still had, and turns for the desk on the side of the room. Finn observes him carefully, and if he is relieved when Ben only pulls out a holo device, he has the good sense not to be overt about it.

“Senator Organa,” Korr Sella says when she answers, her slim figure materializing in a haze of blue as the call finishes loading. The hologram ripples briefly with static before restabilizing, and her image blinks twice in confusion. “Well, this is a surprise.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Ben says, and angles the communication device so it picks up his visitor. “I have someone who needs to speak to you.” Her eyes widen further, darting back and forth.

“Senator Meles. It’s a pleasure,” she says cautiously. “What can I do for you?”

“I have something you should see, that the Resistance needs to see,” Finn says, prepared to repeat his story all over again. Ben signals him to hold with a raised finger.

“Not over this line. Would you care to join us, Sella?”

She’s already nodding before he’s managed to finish the question. She looks too triumphant, and Ben is faced with the reluctant realization she’ll be twice as presumptive of his good will from this point forward. “Send me the location and I’ll be there directly,” she says, and a moment later she’s gone.

“Thank you,” Finn says as Ben puts it away. “Honestly, I– I’m surprised you're doing this. Everyone said you’d be... well. The way you are.”

Ben snorts. “Like I told her, Senator Finn, don’t get used to it,” he warns, as if it’ll have any effect. He grew up around his sort. Once they found reason to hope for something, they never let go, consequences be damned.

Finn reaches out regardless, hand falling over Ben’s again for the second time in as many days, and Ben looks down at him, his next words dying in his throat. Finn smiles, a tentative thing. His touch is still too warm. Ben’s nerves prickle with a feeling he’s hesitant to name.

“I mean it. This has been... my whole life. Maybe now I can finally make a difference, instead of fearing the worst.”

Ben considers that and, for all his customary cynicism, this time he has no desire to weigh against it. He’s too intrigued by Finn and all the question he gives rise too. He wants the answers, even if it means entangling himself in everything he’d stripped himself away from.

“Would you like a drink while we wait?” he suggests instead. “There may be a wait.”

“Yes,” Finn says, squeezing Ben’s hand in an unconscious movement. “I’d like that.”

Belatedly, Ben realizes he’s already entangled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated, and I look forward to enjoy everyone else's contributions to the Finnlo Secret Santa 2016 Exchange! :)


End file.
